Does the Underlying Disease Make a Difference in the Course o f Palliative Home Care Patients? Data from the National Hospice and Palliative Care Registry

Background Patients with non-malignant diseases are considered to be underrepresented in specialized palliative care and it is under discussion which structural format is most likely to meet the specific needs of support of these patients. Methods We therefore analyzed 8,078 (respectively 6,913 usable) data sets from 2011-2018 from the National Hospice and Palliative Care Registry, focusing on patients who were being treated in specialized palliative home care, and further classified depending on the underlying disease. Analysis was performed by using descriptive statistics. Results A comparable range of physical and psychosocial symptoms was found in all subgroups, with only few disease-specific differences in symptoms and outcomes during the period of care. The explicit dominance of cancer patients in palliative care units and hospices was demonstrated by the documentation of the place of death. Discussion While finding an overall homogeneous picture, there are some few disease-specific care patterns in palliative care. These findings should be taken into account when it comes to further conceptualisation of specialized palliative care structures.